A personalized wardrobe in the era of fast fashion

Fashion is all about statements and there is no better way to make a statement than through a personalized wardrobe.

On WearableArtBlog, I strive to present unique designs from independent artists but I am aware that most of these designs are out of reach for most of my readers as some of them are limited edition and some of them are not for sale.

Sites like etsy are good for finding original affordable designs but great care must be exercised when shopping around as in the past few years it has been inundated with cheap mass produced designs. It still remains a great resource for inspiration.

When it comes to clothing, options are much more limited as the market was taken over by fast fashion companies. There is no etsy of clothing to find unique yet affordable ideas and designs for everybody, thus the only option we have is to design our clothes ourselves.

Designing from scratch is not a job for anyone, yet plastering our pictures, texts or logos over a piece of fabric is something anyone can do.

Companies like RushOrderTees let anyone customize their t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, towels or even tote bags the way we want. Creating the clothes is an easy process, uploading the image over the desired piece of clothing and you are ready to go.

However one needs to be extra careful to never use copyrighted designs. If you can’t create your own from scratch, use images or designs from sites like Unsplash or Pixabay to download high resolution photos with a license that allows you to freely use it.

When the designs of fast fashion are lazy and repetitive, creating your own is a fun yet distinctive way to stick out.

Flower Rings and More by Nora Rochel

Since this is when summer gardens are in full bloom, I thought I’d feature the German jewelry artist Nora Rochel, who uses flower motifs in almost all of her work. Here is the artist herself modeling some of her creations.

Nora Rochel flower jewelry — *Nora Rochel flowers for hair*

One of the most unique characteristics of Rochel’s work are the details of the flowers enclosed by petals, like in the ring, below.

Nora Rochel flower ring — *Ring of silver and red gold*

The gray flower ring looks as if it’s been eaten alive.

Nora Rochel gray flower ring — *Ring of patinated silver*

How sweet that a little flower “lives” inside the encasement.

Nora Rochel patinated silver — *Ring of patinated silver and fair trade gold*

There’s such a great variety of shapes, textures, sizes and colors in this work – which makes these rings rather unique.

Nora Rochel Ring of whitened silver — *Ring of whitened silver*

Rochel’s jewelry will be on display through August 31, 2013 at the Putti Gallery international contemporary jewelry exhibition in Riga, Latvia.

Nora Rochel Ring of bronze — *Ring of bronze*

Rochel also does a lot of work in colored porcelain, like this flower bowl.

Nora Rochel porcelain flower bowl — Porcelain flower bowl

Spring Hats by Robyn Coles

Spring is just around the corner, and Welsh milliner Robyn Coles is in demand. Check out these lovely hats from her 2013 spring collection, her second.

Spring Hats Robyn Coles — Spring Hats by Robyn Coles

Coles began making hats for her friends in a spare room after she lost her day job. Less than a year later, at the London Fashion Week 2012, she made a splash debut by having nude models of various shapes, sizes, and ages -including a very pregnant model – parade her hats down the runway.

Despite being a creative milliner and having worked for some big names in fashion, Coles’ college degrees are in politics and economics. Beneath the academic work, she had a strong need to express her creativity – and lots of drive.

Coles recently opened up a hat studio and boutique in the Cardiff Castle Arcade (UK). According to her website, she can barely keep up with the orders for the spring collection.

I love the elegant simplicity of these hats. They just scream early spring, don’t they, with their green backdrops and white flowers?

Knit Accessories from Margot

Here are some great handcrafted accessories – necklaces, collars and headpieces – from the Margot label in Hamburg, Germany.

Jessica Schröder launched Margot in the fall of 2010 after completing her studies in fashion design. She aims to preserve the traditions of crocheting, hand-knitting and embroidery in her work.

The first two photos are from the Enchanged Garden Spring/Summer 2012 collection – colorful pieces that are elegant and a little flower-like for the season.

Knit Accessories Margo — Enchanged Garden Spring/Summer 2012 collection

Jessica designs and creates the prototypes of all the pieces, which are all handmade in Germany.

The roses from this collection are made of individual knitted petals of cotton yarn with crochet trims. The headpieces and necklaces look adorable together.

Jessica’s inspiration for this collection comes from Ernst Haeckel, an artist and biologist from the late 18th and early 19th century who named thousands of newly discovered underwater creatures.

The photos below are from Margot’s latest collection, the Put a Bow on It Autumn/Winter 2012/13 Collection. Here, the mood is darker, even dreamy.

I love the old fashioned quality of these photos. The pieces are like classic Elizabethan, but with a modern twist.

Several years ago, Jessica did an internship at an accessory label, where she learned how to use a domestic knitting machine. She began to experiment with different techniques like crochet, which she taught herself from an old book she found at a flea market.

Jessica explains, “I really love to crochet and knit. I think you have so much freedom and possibilities, by creating your own kind of fabric using different yarns and colours etc….”

Eco-Friendly Textiles by Nuno

We’ve all been reading about eco-friendly and the need to protect the environment. Last week, I heard an inspiring talk by Japanese textile designer Reiko Sudo at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts that made the idea resonate in a way that it hadn’t before.

Sudo began Nuno in 1984 to make Japan’s “lost art” more accessible to textile lovers in an eco-friendly way. Today, Sudo has 10 people working for her designing and creating fabrics and finished products, like the scarf below.

Nuno combines technology with artistry: “Threads with incompatible shrink ratios are… tossed into a hot dryer to yield sculptural textures. Metallic films are bonded to conventional threads, then melted to create transparent filigrees. Computer-programmed looms dance to digitally-enhanced African tribal patterns. Chemically-reprocessed Okinawan banana fibre-coated cottons complement laboriously hand-finished synthetics.”

Sudo was good enough to bring a bunch of sample textiles created by Nuno for the crowd to oogle (the next several photos are a few of the samples).

The red sample, my favorite, is made with strips of nylon tape stitched into all-over patterns. Doesn’t this look like wall art?

Sudo came to textile design almost by accident. She wanted to become a kimono artist but didn’t pass the entrance exam. Instead, she began to study textile design and became hooked on working with all kinds of materials, including plastic. Her studies became the foundation on which Nuno is based.

What also struck me is that Sudo applies the Buddhist belief of living lightly in the world to Nuno’s products. This means reusing scraps.

You can see in the pattern below how Nuno reuses small scraps and combines them with embroidery. Nuno also recycles polyester and nylon into new products in an effort to reduce waste.

The white and black fabric below is made from Kibisio, a rough silk by-product from the hard outer shell of the cocoon. When Sudo discovered that factories typically throw away silk cocoons because they are hard to work with, she figured out a way to create beautifully patterned and textured textiles out of the cocoons to make use of the “waste.”

In 2002, Sudo introduced Nuno Works, which offers handmade products, like clothing, socks, pillows and the scarves and bag shown here. You can even pick your own fabric and have Nuno adapt one of their patterns for you.

The colorful bag below features Entasis-form classical Greek columns on densely woven canvas sail cloth.

Here’s Reiko Sudo herself.

What a great example Nuno is setting for the fashion world and consumers alike.

Lilian Asterfield Eco-Friendly Tie Ruffs

Here’s some great eco-friendly fashion that I happily found last week.

Lilian Asterfield is a ‘refashion label’ featuring ‘upcycled gentleman’s neckties and vintage scarves’ that are hand sewn into ruffle scarves, brooches, and jewelry for women and men.

The Elizabethan-like ruffle collars, which hug the neck and are hand-ruffled and hand-stitched, are my favorites. Below is the Double Ruffle in Bubble Gum and Black.

Nicole Deponte is the woman behind Lilian Asterfield. Apparently, ‘Lilian Asterfield’ is the nickname that Deponte’s stylish grandfather (who must have worn some great ties!) gave to her mother. She gets the ties from eBay and scavenges nearby Salvation Army outlets located near her Boston studio.

Deponte got the idea for doing the tie scarves during a collaboration with her fashion desiger brother – he gave her a bag of ties, including some of her grandfather’s, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The Triple Ruffle, below, brings together three very different ties – each with soft colors – into a fun pattern of its own.

Two satin silk neckties are hand ruffled and hand sewn into the lovely white violet ruffle collar, below.

Here’s a vintage silk scarf that’s been hand stitched in a 1900’s style hair bow and then stitched onto on a silk and leather lined headband.

Finally, would you believe there’s even a Doggy Ruffle Collection? Your doggie’s scarf will be custom sized to fit your pooch’s neck. This scarf is modeled by “Bugs.”

I love the gorgeous patterns, striking colors and appealing designs in these pieces, which are bound to be conversation starters. And, they’re reasonably priced.

You Got Mojo Junk Yard Jewelry

This is a great recycling story. Pyper Hugos (photo below) makes jewelry from old cars and signs she finds in the local junk yard! I recently had the pleasure of trading notes with her.

Pyper makes each piece of jewelry by hand in her Bozeman, Montana studio, down to the hand cutting and formation of the metal. She even gives female names to each of her pieces.

Recycled Metal Ring — “Audrey” Ring of metal salvaged from a ’73 GMC pickup truck.

One thing that’s especially cool about her work is that she keeps the historical markings on the metal, intentionally leaving the original paint intact and unaltered. That makes for some suprising effects.

As you can see from these pieces, she loves bright, lively colors.

Necklace of recycled orange metal — “Willa” Necklace of orange metal salvaged from 60’s era Rambler with found washers.

Pyper explained that a big part of her enjoyment comes from scouring the junk yard and getting lost in the possibilities: “I truly enjoy getting down and dirty as I salvage and rummage through piles in the scrap yard, seeking out that perfect piece.”

Earrings of recycled metal — “Olivia” Earrings of metal from ’57 Ford F100 pickup truck. Sterling silver swirls are hand forged.

Pyper has been working with salvaged metal and found objects as her medium for over 11 years and began by making large abstract wall hangings from old rusty metal.

This statment sums up what her jewelry creations mean to her: “I believe that taking an object from our everyday lives, transforming its original form and function, can make a statement of great significance.”

Necklace of recycled metal — “Ora” Necklace of metal from a ’40’s GMC bat wing hood; red circle from a ’60’s FJ Landcruiser; black from a ’73 Ford pickup with found washer.

Pyper lives the life of a seemingly carefree artist. She says, “Right now, my husband (who is also an artist) and I are on the road for 2 months traveling, doing shows. When I get a chance between shows, I am able to make a bit of jewelry on the road. We have a lot of fun in between shows while on the road hiking and biking with our 2 dogs that travel with us…”

Do you know the old saying that there’s someone for everyone? Well, maybe there’s an old car part for everyone, too! This is a great example of how each person’s creative spirit expresses itself. What’s yours?

You can see more of Pyper Hugos’ work at joyridejewelry.com.

Bead Masks by Wendy Seaward

I’ve featured some masks before but few as dramatic as these colorful creations by Wendy Seaward of Knoxville, Tennessee.

Seaward describes her approach to bead weaving as sculptural. She “creates freeform shapes and textures out of tangles of glass seed beads and threads” and will often weave them together with semiprecious stones, pearls, fossils, and found objects.

Bead Face Mask by Wendy Seaward — Bead Face Mask

Here’s my favorite part of Seaward’s story. While living in Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer, she came to love the beadwork of the local tribes (Ndbele, Swazi, Zulu, Xhosa and Basotho). So, the masks you see here are inspired by the beadwork that Seward experienced first hand in Africa.

In an interview on the Artodidact Project, Seaward said that she is a self-taught beader, trying it out as a hobby that turned into a full-time pursuit. She takes pride in experimenting with new forms using hand stitching. No looms for Seaward — she sews each bead on one-at-a-time, all by hand!

I love the feathers and colors in the mask, above, and the expressiveness in the woman’s face below. Not only does Seaward have a way with working with beads, but she’s a great artist, too.

Wendy Seaward Bead Mask — Wendy Seaward design, Bead Mask

Here’s a nice shot of Seaward taken at one of the many craft shows where she exhibits her work. She’s playfully posing behind one of her handmade bead necklaces. Now that’s what I call wearable art!

Isn’t this wonderful work? To see more of Seward’s beaded creations, go to Wendy Seaward’s page.

Comeback of Lace Traditions in Brittany

Hello again. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted here. Got busy with my day job and life in general. Even so, my passion for wearable art is still alive and well.

I want to share a fascinating article from the April issue of National Geographic about the lace traditions of small villages located in the northwest corner of Brittany, France. Young women are connecting with their cultural traditions by wearing outfits dating back to the 1800s at some Breton rituals and social groups called Celtic circles.

Here are a few of my favorite headdresses and costumes from the article.

Each ensemble is specific to an individual village and sometimes the surrounding area.

These tall headdresses are from Brittany’s Finistère area. Notice the embroidery on the dresses.

There are even ensembles for mourning. The outfit pictured here would only be worn in the later stages of mourning due to the use of embroidery on the shawl.

st nicolas du pelem cotes d'armor — St Nicolas du Pelem cotes d’armor

Notice the delicate collar, as well as the intricate head covering.

Check out more of these creations on National Geographic. If you’re in Brittany, visit the Breton Museum in Quimper to learn more about the Breton artistic and ethnographic heritage.